Lyme disease

deer ticks live in our area

If you visit Liberation Park, please be aware of the possibility of contracting Lyme disease, which is a tick born illness. Like most of the midwest, the northeast, and increasingly the northwest United States, Lyme disease and other tick born illnesses are endemic here. Encountering ticks is one of our facts of life at LP and we are learning to live with nature's creatures and rules. (Reported Cases of Lyme Disease in United States through 2007 and in 2007 alone: to see where it's happening.)

Fortunately Lyme disease is both preventable & treatable. By following these precautions you can be reasonably certain that you will not contract the disease.

Precautions & prevention

Check yourself thoroughly -- full body inspection -- once a day. Have someone check your back. It is thought that ticks must be attached for longer than 24 hours to transmit the spirochete responsible for Lyme disease.

Remove imbedded ticks with pointy tweezers. Get the head not the body!

A single dose of doxycycline is effective in preventing Lyme disease if taken at the time an embedded tick is removed (available locally for those who are certain they do not have allergies to any antibiotics).

If bitten, be mindful of any rash or flu-like symptoms over the next several weeks. Prompt treatment (usually 2- 4 weeks of twice daily antibiotic depending on length of time symptoms have been present) will eradicate the disease and prevent long term sequelae.

There are also herbal immune boosters which can help prevent contracting tick borne illnesses if taken daily, and homeopathic remedies to take at the time of a bite. We can provide those interested with further information.